Charlie Sheen wages legal war on two fronts

Actor aims to win custody of children from Brooke Mueller and punitive damages from Warner Bros

BY Linda PalermoLAST UPDATED AT 12:19 ON Tue 19 Apr 2011

Charlie Sheen's lawyers will spend Tuesday fighting two of the eccentric actor's most implacable enemies: his former studio Warner Bros, which sacked the actor in March for his increasingly erratic behaviour; and his estranged wife Brooke Mueller, whose own drug problems have brought up the frankly terrifying prospect of Sheen being granted full custody of the pair's twin children.

Mueller checked in to rehab last Friday after refusing to take a drug test - prompting her former beau to call her a "crack addict", "troll" and "loser" during his Violent Torpedo of Truth live show at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Las Vegas at the weekend. Now Sheen's legal team is demanding - seemingly without irony - that their man should become the twins' sole guardian as their mother has relapsed.

The kids aren't all Mueller stands to lose. Sheen's lawyers are asking the judge to strip her of the $55,000 a month that she receives in child support from the actor. Mueller's own legal team will be fighting hard to ensure that Max and Bob, both two, will remain with Brooke's mother in Palm Beach, Florida, despite the fact that the drug test Mueller skipped was mandated as part of her child support deal.

Meanwhile another legal team will be at the California Superior Court in Santa Monica, pursuing Sheen's former employers Warner Bros. The former Two And A Half Men star is seeking punitive damages and recovery of unpaid wages against Warner and the show's creator Chuck Lorre which could come in at more than $100m.

Sheen's lawsuit says that Lorre "believes himself to be so wealthy and powerful that he can unilaterally decide to take money away from the dedicated cast and crew... in order to serve his own ego and self-interest". A spokesman for Lorre has dismissed the accusations as "simply imaginary. This lawsuit is about a fantasy 'lottery' payday for Charlie Sheen. Chuck Lorre's concern has been and continues to be about Mr. Sheen's health".

TMZ is reporting that Sheen will appear in court for the custody hearing but will have to jump on a plane to fly across America to make his Violent Torpedo of Truth tour date in Washington DC tonight.